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Doubts Over Evolution Continue to Mount as 60 Biologists Express Skepticism with Central Tenet of Darwin’s Theory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rob Crowther
Discovery Institute
(206) 292-0401 x.107
rob@discovery.org

AUSTIN, SEPT. 10 — Evolution continues to be a theory in crisis as 60 biologists from across the country step forward and sign onto a growing list of scientists of all disciplines voicing their skepticism over one of the central tenets of Darwin’s theory of evolution and urging “careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

“A growing number of scientists around the world no longer believe that natural selection or chemistry, alone, can explain the origins of life, and while they are still a minority, they are a growing minority,” said Bruce Chapman, president of Discovery Institute. “It is an important day in science when biologists are bold enough to challenge one of the leading theories in their profession.”

“Darwin’s shrillest defenders continue to claim there is no scientific debate and no legitimate scientists who question neo-Darwinian evolution and yet again that claim is shown to be false,” said John West, associate director of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture. “Just last week we highlighted 40 scientists in Texas alone who have joined the national list of scientists skeptical of Darwin.”

During recent decades, new scientific evidence from many scientific disciplines such as cosmology, physics, biology, “artificial intelligence” research, and others have caused scientists to begin questioning Darwinism’s central tenet of natural selection and studying the evidence supporting it in greater detail.

The full statement signed by the biologists reads: “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.” These biologists are part of a larger group of scientists, over 260, from around the world who have voiced their skepticism of certain parts Darwin’s theory.

Prominent biologists who have signed the list include evolutionary biologist and textbook author Stanley Salthe and Giuseppe Sermonti the Editor of Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum. The list of biologists also includes scientists from Princeton, Cornell, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Idaho, Ohio State University, Purdue and University of Washington among others.

“Shouldn’t students know that many scientists doubt that the overall pattern of fossil evidence conforms to the Darwinian picture of the history of life?” asked Chapman. “Shouldn’t they know that some scientists now question previously stock Darwinian arguments from embryology and homology? And shouldn’t they also know that many scientists now question the ability of natural selection to create fundamentally new structures, organisms and body plans? Of course they should.”

For comprehensive coverage of the Texas State Board of Education hearings on biology textbooks please visit Discovery Institute’s Texas online press room at www.discovery.org/csc/texas/.

About Discovery Institute

Discovery Institute promotes ideas in the common sense tradition of representative government, the free market and individual liberty. Current projects include work in technology, science and culture, the economy, transportation, and the bi-national region of “Cascadia.” Visit Discovery online: www.discovery.org.

Discovery Institute

Discovery Institute promotes thoughtful analysis and effective action on local, regional, national and international issues. The Institute is home to an inter-disciplinary community of scholars and policy advocates dedicated to the reinvigoration of traditional Western principles and institutions and the worldview from which they issued.